Name: Delphinium retchastoplody – zivokost retchastoplodnaya
Delphinium dictyocarpum (Delphinium dictyocarpum); pericarp is reticulate
POISON!
A perennial herbaceous plant of the family of sedum. The stem is straight, ribbed, 60-100 cm tall. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, round-heart-shaped, finger-shaped, dissected into 5-7 rhombic lobes, glabrous, only at the base and on the veins there are sparse bristles. The flowers are irregular, on thin peduncles, collected in a dense multi-flowered tassel 20-35 cm long; perianth simple, five-membered, corolla-shaped, blue or dark blue; the upper leaf of the perianth with a spur. Nectar petals and petal-like staminodia are blue or whitish. The fruit consists of 3 multi-seeded leaves. Blooms in June – August.
Distribution . In its wild state, the plant occurs in the mountains in the south of Western Siberia and Eastern Kazakhstan, in the Southern Urals. In Ukraine, it is cultivated as a medicinal plant.
Procurement and storage . For medical purposes, the herb (Herba Delphinii) is harvested, which is the raw material for the production of the melictin product. Harvesting is carried out in the phase of budding and the beginning of flowering of the plant, cutting off the upper leafy part of the stems. Grass is dried in the sun, but when dried in the shade or in dryers, raw materials of higher quality are obtained. They keep it in the group of potent raw materials. The shelf life is 2 years. Delphinium reticulata is a poisonous plant. After working with it, you need to wash your hands thoroughly.
Chemical composition . The grass of the plant contains 0.34-1.23% of alkaloids (methyllycaconitine, delsemine, anthranoyllicoctonine, delpyrine, eldelin, eldelidine, lycoctonine, dictiocarpine, delectin, isoboldine, dictysin, dictyonine, N-methyllaurothetanin, N-acetyldelectin, O-acetyldelectin), organic acids and mineral salts. Among the alkaloids, methyl lycaconitine predominates (up to 0.65%).
Pharmacological properties and use. The alkaloid methyllycaconitine, which is the main active substance of delphinium reticulata, has curare-like properties and, like d-tubocurarine, acts in a competitive manner. It inhibits the transmission of excitation from motor nerves to muscles, blocks n-cholineractive systems of skeletal muscles and autonomic ganglia. Skeletal muscles, thus, remain able to interact with acetylcholine, a mediator of nervous excitement, which is formed in the endings of motor nerves. Unlike d-tubocurarine, which mainly affects n-cholineractive systems of skeletal muscles, methyllycaconitin more strongly blocks n-cholineractive systems of autonomic nodes, as a result of which blood pressure is significantly reduced. In addition to the ganglioblocking effect, methyllycaconitin has a depressing effect on the higher departments of the central nervous system, in particular, on the subcortical centers of the brain. The drug melictin (methyllycaconitin hydroiodide) is effective in various neurological diseases accompanied by pathologically increased muscle tone (in case of damage to the pyramidal system) and in other disorders of motor functions of the body (hyperkinesis, catalepsy) associated with pathology of the central nervous system (parkinsonism, spastic traumatic paralysis, multiple sclerosis), as well as in cases of postoperative, traumatic and infectious lesions of the spinal cord.The drug is poisonous! Treatment should be carried out only under the supervision of a doctor. In case of increased sensitivity to meliktin or in case of overdose, anticholinesterase substances (proserin, galantamine, etc.) are administered intravenously, oxygen is given, and artificial respiration is carried out.
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – melictin (Mellictinum) 1 tablet 1-5 times a day (start with 1 tablet and gradually increase to 5 tablets a day) for 3-8 weeks with repetition of the course of treatment after a 3-4 month break. It is contraindicated to prescribe melictin in myasthenia gravis and other diseases accompanied by a decrease in muscle tone, in severe liver and kidney dysfunction, and in decompensation of cardiac activity.